Do you find it difficult to order food in China? Have you ever had to eat very spicy food just because you didn't know how to express the spiciness you wanted?
In this lesson, we learn how to call for the waiter, specify the spiciness you want, and what to say when the food is taking too long.

First, let's see how you can call for the waiter and tell him that you want to order.

Hover over any word to show translation

fú wù yuán

服务员

服務員

waiter, waitress, attendant

，

cài dān

菜单

菜單

menu

，

wǒ men

我们

我們

we

yào

要

要

to want, to ask for

diǎn cài

点菜

點菜

to order dishes

。

Waiter, menu! We would like to order.

Character set

Pinyin

“服务员／服務員” means waiter, and can be used for both men and women. A lot of Chinese also like to use “美女 [měi nǚ]” (beautiful girl) and “帅哥 [shuài gē]” (handsome guy) to call for the waitress or waiter, in hopes that making the staff happy could lead to getting better service.

Ok, now that you have a menu, you can start ordering food. We can use “我要 [wǒ yào] + name of the food” or “给我来个 [gěi wǒ lái ge] + name of the food” to order.

Hover over any word to show translation

-

fú wù yuán

服务员

服務員

waiter, waitress, attendant

，

wǒ

我

我

I, me

yào

要

要

to want, to ask for

3

3

wǎn

碗

碗

bowl, cup

fàn

饭

飯

cooked rice, food

。

-

gěi

给

給

to give

wǒ

我

我

I, me

lái

来

來

to arrive, to come round

ge

个

個

classifier for people or objects in general

là zi

辣子

辣子

chili

jī

鸡

雞

chicken

- Waiter, I want three bowls of rice. - Give me one spicy chicken.

Character set

Pinyin

“辣子鸡” is a very spicy dish. If you don’t like your food that spicy, you can tell the waiter the level of spiciness you would like. In China, spiciness can roughly be divided into 5 levels, as follows.

Hover over any word to show translation

bú

不

不

(negative prefix), not

là

辣

辣

hot (spicy)

、

wēi

微

微

tiny, miniature

là

辣

辣

hot (spicy)

、

zhōng

中

中

middle, center

là

辣

辣

hot (spicy)

、

dà

大

大

big, great

là

辣

辣

hot (spicy)

、

tè

特

特

special, distinguished

là

辣

辣

hot (spicy)

。

Not spicy, mildly spicy, normal spicy, very spicy, extremely spicy.

Character set

Pinyin

Using this new knowledge, we can place an order like this:

Hover over any word to show translation

gěi

给

給

to do sth (for sb)

wǒ

我

我

I, me

lái

来

來

to come, to arrive

ge

个

個

classifier for people or objects in general

là zǐ

辣子

辣子

chili

jī

鸡

雞

chicken

，

tè là

特辣

特辣

very spicy

de

的

的

(used after an attribute)

；

zài

再

再

again, then

lái

来

來

to come, to arrive

ge

个

個

classifier for people or objects in general

shuǐ zhǔ yú

水煮鱼

水煮魚

Sichuan poached sliced fish in hot chili oil

，

wēi là

微辣

微辣

mildly spicy

de

的

的

(used after an attribute)

；

hái yǒu

还有

還有

furthermore, in addition

5

5

chuàn

串

串

to string together, skewer, classifier for rows or strings

yáng ròu

羊肉

羊肉

mutton

chuàn

串

串

to string together, skewer, classifier for rows or strings

，

bú yào

不要

不要

don't, must not

là

辣

辣

hot (spicy)

。

Give me one spicy chicken, extra spicy. And one boiled fish, mildly spicy. As well as five lamb skewers, not spicy.

Character set

Pinyin

By the way, just like “hot” in English, “辣” can also mean “sexy”. So you can use it like this:

Hover over any word to show translation

tā

她

她

she

hěn

很

很

very

là

辣

辣

hot (spicy), sexy

。

She is very hot.

Character set

Pinyin

Ok, let's return to ordering food. Now you lots of food, but how can we not have beer? Let’s see how we can order it.
In China, beer is either served cold or in room temperature. If you don’t specify which one you want, chances are you will get a room-temperatured one. So if you like your beer cold, it is best to say so when you order.